Lockheed Electra to fly to Museum of Flight Sept. 21

SEATTLE — The fly-in arrival of the Museum of Flight’s 1935 Lockheed Electra, one of only two in the world, is scheduled to arrive Sept. 21 at 1:45 p.m. The rare airliner is the same type as Amelia Earhart’s famous plane, and it will be the center piece of a permanent Earhart exhibit opening in October.

In celebration of the Electra’s arrival and final flight, the museum’s curator, Dan Hagedorn will lead a noon program about the airplane, followed by outside music and festivities to welcome the aircraft upon its landing. Half-price admission will be offered to museum visitors dressed in the style of the 1930s.

As the museum’s airplane, the Electra will make its first public appearance at the Reno Air Races and Air Show Sept. 10-15, and the vintage plane’s final flight will be from Reno to Seattle on Sept. 21. En route, the Electra will fly over an Amelia Earhart event in Oregon, and fly near iconic Northwest landmarks such as Mt. Rainier, the Space Needle and the Seattle skyline.

After low passes over Boeing Field before landing, the Electra will taxi into the museum parking lot and parked next to vintage cars from LeMay-America’s Car Museum. The Electra will be on view in the parking lot for the rest of the day, and will not be displayed again until it is installed indoors in the Earhart exhibit on Oct. 12.

The Museum’s Electra was built for Northwest Airlines and began passenger service in 1935. It served in World War II and then went back to flying passengers for various airlines until it was restored to replicate Amelia Earhart’s Electra in 1996. In 1997 Linda Finch flew it around the world, reenacting Earhart’s ill-fated, 1937 last flight. Today there is only one other Lockheed Model 10-E Electra in existence, according to museum officials.